OCTOBER 2019 MANAGEMENT
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manufacturing industry,
showing that no matter
how little time you have,
intelligence strategies is their versatility.
They can be applied to any business situation.
When considering the factors which are
applicable to the situation for which you
are trying to strategize, the most important
question to ask, is ‘So what?’. We continue to
ask this throughout the entire process. When
developing a strategy, many people will come
forward with information they feel is relevant
to the situation. It’s not always obvious how
this information is important to the situation
at hand. This can overwhelm team members
with unneeded information. Using a diff erent
format of delivering information can stop this
from happening by explaining each factor, why
they’re signifi cant and how they’re relevant to
the current situation.
For example, when infl uencing decisions
with a new client account, you may have
identifi ed the business owner has poor
communication with the manual workers.
Therefore, the needs and requirements for the
business aren’t shared correctly between levels
of management. Well, ‘So what?’. What does
this mean for you and your business strategy?
This may indicate that information doesn’t
fl ow naturally through all levels of the business,
meaning you need to reach more stakeholders
with the same message. This question should
then be carried out throughout the process of
dealing with the business as it helps deduce the
situation, helping you to think critically and
with purpose.
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A key part
of strategy
planning is
in fi nding a
contingency
objectives. This type of profi ling
for employees and clients can
be based on personality, their
attitude towards the topic
or their past interactions.
Connections with clients and
stakeholders are very important
to your overall business
strategy, so ensuring you have
the right point-person for the
job is critical.
Lastly, the military strategy
is all about being ‘fl exible but
timely’. There is an old military
saying of ‘no plan survives fi rst
contact with the enemy’, in
business this translates to the
importance of adapting your
strategy when your goal posts
move. Contingency planning is
crucial for when the outcome of
your objectives is not what you
hoped for. Time for review and
adjustment of your objectives
should be a key part of the
control measures in your overall
business plan. This is especially
important for the ever-changing
economy and its eff ects on the
manufacturing industry. There
should always be someone in
charge of regularly checking the
progress of goals, achievements,
and failures.
In conclusion, the high
performers of your business
may be creating temporary
successes but without a
step-by-step strategy on their
achievements, such successes
will be diffi cult to repeat. These
universal business tools for
strategy were created in the
battlefi eld and can be easily
adapted to the challenges faced
by manufacturing companies.
By implementing these tools
into your business model,
you can create a stable
framework for higher success
rates in the industry.
Speaking the same
language
An important part of teamwork
is the sharing of information.
‘Speaking the same language’
is a key step in developing
your strategy. Sharing vital
information throughout the
team could prevent a disaster or
encourage success with a client.
Sometimes bad communication
can stop the fl ow of information
as someone may assume
the information is widely
understood or that it’s not
relevant. This can be prevented
by improved communication
within the group using a shared
implementing a strategy; within
the military this is known as
‘identifying your point-person’.
Your ‘point-person’ should
be the person best suited to
that client relationship. The
chosen individual can act as
your ‘infl uence agent’ and
should be able to sequence
interactions and navigate
politics. Recognising a team
member who will form a
better client relationship than
yourself requires self-awareness.
Strategic relationships are the
key to success so by matching a
team member to a client through
profi ling, you have a much
better chance of achieving your
you can still eff ectively install
a strategy into your business
plan. The benefi t of military
language around infl uence.
This is achievable with the
use of specifi c tools for
stakeholder mapping
and profi ling. Using
profi ling in your
strategy can help
reveal often missed
information about
your client, this will
in turn improve your
engagement.
Work relationships
are an important part of
About the author
Emma Dutton served as an engineer o cer in the RAF before transitioning
to the infl uence capability of Military Intelligence. Over fi ve tours of
Afghanistan, she was placed in leadership and governance roles, leading
teams to collect life-saving information. After a realisation that she was
using the same infl uence skill set and methodology in her interactions
with politicians and military commanders as she was with the Taliban,
Emma co-founded the Applied Infl uence Group. She was honoured
with an MBE in 2015 for her service in Afghanistan.
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